•It was getting worse, chronic charges of malignant impulses were corroding Jace from his mental condition down through his circulatory system. His body felt like it was slowly rotting; even his appetite decayed after his demonic return to Vescrutia. It had been months since he enjoyed his favorite meal, but as of late it fouled his mouth as if he gnawed at necrotic tissue. And to make things worse, his native option of thermal absorption only sustained him so long as he clocked in copious amounts of direct solar exposure.

Something had to give.. Jace was warned that his return from Makai would poison his soul, but the effects were more potent than ever now. He was seeing things and experiencing urges that would kin him to the malevolent forces he battled in the past. He neglected to tell Zeik, but Jace needed to consult an expert of the seraphic arts to discover if his supernatural suffering could be reversed.

His intel brought him to the Resonance Forest, and for what felt like weeks he'd been venturing deep into the shadowy timberland. His normally muscular frame degenerated by malnutrition, his poisonous chakra now wreaked from his pores like a funky odor. Even Jace's token smile was beaten into submission, hidden behind his bearish mask of facial hair. •

Just gotta.. Keep heading north, right..?

•His labored breaths and defeated optimism were the only sounds made during this nocturnal exodus.

The wily creatures who pouch these regions peered upon this smelly, shirtless hobo from the still blanket of darkness. The contorting twisting trees even seemed to reach closer when hidden from moonlight and the piercing, ocular slits of these hunters were dissecting the perfect procedure of attack.

But there was no fear of confrontation from this alien battle lord. Jace's ruby red eyes burned molten lava lamps when he crossed their gaze, his proud stride not once tripping up despite his condition. And whether it be his brass balls or neglected odor, Jace hadn't been approached once during his journey. For him to be swarmed so quickly at this point meant either he was weaker than he was letting on, and these predators could smell it.. Or he'd finally been getting close.•

• His proud stride had hit its peak after several more hours of walking. The kid was exhausted but he at least hoped to outlast the night once more and rejuvenate in a bath of solar rays. But the caress of daybreak seemed alien to these unmarked lands, he couldn't even sense the Chaos anymore. He overestimated himself and finally over exerted his muscles, Jace's weathered body tumbled like an oak tree and crashed into the cold ground.. hard.

The resounding thud broke the silence and triggered a nocturnal parade that rustled the trees and bushes in the darkness. The forest came to life when yet another soul fell to its chakra depleting ether; the appropriate parties were alerted, the knowledgeable denizens evacuated and the gates to Fungus Peek were reinforced. The indigenous of the hidden canyon weren't considered the pragmatic type, especially when it concerned trespassers. Legend regards their region as a melting pot of occult creatures and fairy folk united in their bonds and melded in their hatred of Vescrutia's human plague.

Jace was a foreigner encroaching upon sacred lands, and to make matters worse, he bore demon blood. This Omnicronian invader was greeted by a brisk gale of winds that rocked his slumber and bowed the lengthy trees. This phantom traversed the shadows seamlessly, and could have easily dispatched Jace before he removed the crust from his eyes. But this intruder's endeavor was not only premeditated, it was educated. He was more than just some unlucky voyager lost in the woods, and it was impossible to stumble upon the location of Fungus Peek due to enchantments protecting it from demonic infestation. This Knowledge of their Eden was taboo and made Jace an incredible threat, she would have to decide his punishment. •

".."

• The bellowing winds didn't wake him, but Jace's eyes creaked open when the sound of someone groaning and heavily breathing right over him ruined his dreams. He tried to muster the strength to stand only to be forcibly shoved into the dirt by a fifteen foot behemoth, with hands large enough to dwarf Jace's 6' stature.

The clouds must have cleared while he slept because Jace caught a glimpse of his assailant when kissed by moonlight. The beast was hideous, with logs for fingers and hefty trunks for arms that pinned Jace's face deep into the soil with pulverizing strength. •

"I'M..NOT..YOUR ENE-"

• It took every ounce of verve and spirit for Jace to vocalize his diplomatic approach, and strength he didn't have to lift the mighty ogres hands from crushing his lungs. But this green giant's primitive roar steamrolled whatever the hell Jace had to say, and silenced his resistance with another vindictive fist. This time, Jace was pounded into the ground like a railroad pike, and was mercilessly ravaged until his fingers stopped twitching. •

• The brutal emerald monster hadn't stopped its sinful physical assault, pounding and pounding until the subtle winds of the forest signaled for mercy. Jace was beaten unconscious about fifteen minutes ago, but these guardians of the oasis, these sentinels of the occult were molded to be relentless against demons and mortal trespassers. They patrolled the boarders of Fungus Peek by the thousands and used their magical muscle to terminate said intruders. All this, done by a single woman.. The very woman that lured Jace into a brand new saga of peril.

With a single hand, the ogre scooped Jace up and out of the crater that cradled his lifeless body, and carried him further into the darkened trees betwixt its stone calloused palm like a broken action figure. The two of them still had quite the lengthy voyage ahead of them before they reached the gates of Fungus Peek, but that extra time would provide the sage with more than enough time to prepare..•

• Jace displayed no apparent signs of life during his trauma coma, not a snore, no tossing or turning, but when he finally broke out of his dreamscape.. He still couldn't move. Sleep paralysis? His vision was far too impaired to notice that he was chained and cuffed from his neck down to his knees.. He was drifting in and out of conscious thought until he was violently thrown into some murky, cobalt puddle. Jace awoke alert and gasping for air. His dizzy spell was over and it only took a moment for him to regain his bearings. The fresh gashes and bruises covering him from head to toe reminded him of that thorough ass whooping from that emerald monster, and the incredibly vivid landscape assured him his journey was not fruitless. •

I made it.. But how?

• Jace thought to himself. He was positive that his short lived struggle against the forest guardian would result in his immediate ejection. But it was at this point, the reality of captivity set in when Jace noticed he was tied up with.. Vines? Not chains, roots and vines dripping with the same cobalt solution in which Jace was marinating, as well as few sprouting mushrooms and spores. His first response to these pathetic shackles were a firestorm heavy enough to waste this entire sanctuary in a single breath, and smoke out this Sage. He chuckled it off though, chalking the malevolent impulse up his deteriorating moral code. Instead, Jace turned his attention toward the abominable green giant with one of his smiles that could extinguish hellfire. •

"You don't hear to well, huh? I told you I come in peace.."

• He called out to the statuesque creature, spitting a glob of dried blood out of his mouth. •

"I've come seeking the dreams of T'hyri, The Oracle or The Vision..or whatever.. "

• Jace droned on, but the mighty ogre just snarled. It was uninterested in whatever poisonous babble leapt from this demons lips, however it's eyes were fixed on every tanned fiber of Jace's skin like a security camera. It was waiting, praying for him to move too suddenly.. It damn near lunged to rip Jace's head off when he coughed up a lung, but responded by dismissively groaning and setting off to his post within the forest. •

"HEY!! WE'RE NOT DONE HERE!!!"

• Jace was a nice guy, but he had his share of pet peeves. And being ignored, hog tied, beaten into a second wind, and thrown into an unknown blue stew were elements that could stoke some serious fury. He had questions, and he be damned if his quest was stumped by a mute tree monster.

His bursting voice reached horrendous decibels; more primal than any roar but too powerful to be a mere battle cry. Jace's chakras gauges were still fried from his incredibly long exodus, but his muscles were bulging beneath his constraints faster than his body could compensate.. It was grotesque. The clean air of this sacred canyon was mutating along with the Omnicronian. His demonic impulses were becoming so caustic, his chakra was han airborne organic eroding agent. •

Shit..

• But he was still in control.. For the most part. Jace buckled down; clenching his teeth, which were now swelling razors, and curbing this passive secretion of destruction with fancy chakra control. The mighty ogre couldn't have been more than a few yards away, but it wouldn't respond to Jace's tantrum. It wasn't deaf, but it would not engage unless it's outcome was extermination. T'hyri wanted him alive, otherwise he wouldn't be swimming in her pools. •

"..STILL YOURSELF, MONTER.."

• This disembodied voice accosted Jace's ears like an scorned god, booming around him from all angles as to eliminate the concept of escape. Or free will for that matter.. The shackles of shrubbery began to squeeze Jace until he began to choke on the life he had left. The mystical grip of the vines binding him expedited from a handcuff's clench to a hangman's noose. His chakra, his life force, shit everything in his body for that matter was robbed of all sovereignty. Jace tumbled over and splashed into the tiny basins of cobalt puddles completely motionless. Conscious.. But, completely paralyzed. His mind was alleviated of all of neurotic action, It was just trapped in his skull.. •

...

• Beads, soon buckets of sweat were dripping down his cheek and fertilized the soil. Though paralyzed, his most primitive instincts recognized when incredible danger. •

"I will NOT have three hundred years of peace be burned away.. "

"..Not by you..."

• The omniscient voice, though mighty in its punitive diction, sounded foreign to the common tongue. Struggling to maintain its native elegance, but elegant nonetheless. Sprouting from the enchanted soil was the hermit of legend. Thyri sprouted from the ground not four feet from Jace, only she was the size of healthy fungus. She was tall for a fairy, six inches tall maybe seven, but her tiny ivory eyes bore the collective fury of several centuries. Her scowl looked painful, but she was disgusted with Jace's putrid existence. Though, there was no denying her interest with his over exertion of placidity. She could not and would not allow the sanctity of her oasis to be disturbed, and the pen sized trident of otherworldly magics would make sure she'd maintain national security. •

• The might in T'hyri's voice bowed mountains, and it did so effortlessly with Jace. She took her time approaching him, analyzing every inch of his foul stench until she approached his face, her scowl utterly disgusted. In the five minutes it took her to arrive she contemplated the pros and cons of erasing every trace of him and maintaining the sanctity of her oasis. The longer his demonic flesh drowned in that mystical soup the softer it became, she would barely have to jab her trident into his head to completely vanquish him. Her wisdom and abilities made it her responsibility alone to safe guard the denizens of Fungus Peek but- •

How did you get here?

• This question tore at her mortal and punitive decision making. She stood before his still body, her tiny ivory lenses staring invasively into Jace's moon sized eyes while her arcane roots strangled him. If she just vanquished him, more could funnel into her garden through the same hole Jace crawled out of. She shuttered at the thought.

T'hyri encroached closer upon the immobilized demon, close enough for him to smell the blood of his kin dried along the tips of her trident. She was close enough for him to taste her majestic, unbridled fury. She was close enough for her to gag on the scent of his undead sweat. With extreme prejudice T'hyri whipped him with the flat side of her pencil sized instrument and shattered Jace's jaw into brittle shards. The impact would release him from cognitive paralysis but would molest him with new found pain. •

"HOW DID YOU GET HERE!?!"

• Jace's next scream had nowhere near the same cataclysmic effects. He howled in agony, never before experiencing such power, from a miniature creature no doubt. His native planet of Omnicron never harbored the magic gene pool, he only heard of them through lore and stories. While the rumors of their size seemed exaggerated, their strength was unprecedented. But jace couldn't help but chuckle. •

*Puh*

• He spat out a glob of blood, fragmented dental bones, and giggles. •

"If I wanted to destroy you, or your home, we wouldn't be talking. If you're truly a prophet you would know this, right? Demon or not, use common sense. I know that you have this stigma against all demons.. "

"..But you gotta know of my abilities, Thyri, my intentions. Your visions stretch to the far reaches of our galactic sector so you know my history. The Nightmare and Chaos has saved Vescrutia and your province more than enough for me to gain a little clout around here-"

• Thyri's trident smashed Jace's smug mouth shut again with royal prejudice, forcing a demonic howl from his throat that stirred up mystical hysteria about Fungus Peak. Fairies and nymphs emerged from the ether, awakened by the clang of Aryum Crystal against demonic bone. The scepter was forged as a catalyst for their queen's might and as a bane of their enemies. The tiny goddess stood unwavering as Jace's blood splattered on her skin and stained her unique regalia, but it took all of her royal poise to keep from snickering at his broken face.•

"I do not care who you are.. But you're right to say I hate you, every single one of you, everything about you.."

• Jace's neck hung low as blood leaked out of his nose and mouth, splling and mixing with Thyri's sparkly blue solution. His face looked more like a Picasso painting and so long as he marinated in those cool, sapphire pools, his unholy abilities were suppressed. No healing.. •

"You've sought me out in vain, monster."

• The tiny sage demanded an audience and one assembled behind her; numbering higher than snowflakes in a blizzard was another extension Thyri's army, but they looked like twinkling sprites or fireflies. They adorned armor, deadly weapons and deadlier techniques but details of their finery was shrouded by the blistering lights.

Without sacrificing an ounce of grace Thyri fluttered over to Jace's cave sized ear and whispered gently enough for him to capture the allure of her voice. Her grip strangling her trident forced her shimmering calvary to intensify in luminosity and magnificence but she spoke so light her words were almost carried away by the winds. •

"I will feed you to my forest and you will tell me of your provider. You can die knowing that whoever sent you here, sent you to die.. But they will soon follow."

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